Great British Railway Journeys

- Season 7

(2016)

Joining the cracker packers of Carlisle on the factory floor, Michael really takes the biscuit as he investigates the Victorian appetite for the custard cream on his new journey through north-west Britain. Braving a perilous descent into the only operational slate mine in England, Michael discovers a miniature railway which once hauled slate to the surface. Following in the footsteps of Victorian miners on their way to work, he steps out gingerly on to what is now Britain's only Via Ferrata - a terrifying tightrope challenge 300 feet above the Borrowdale Valley.

We start at Windermere railway station and leave the train to visit Beatrix Potter's Hilltop. Brantwood is also visited. Regaining the train to Kendal to make Kendal Mint Cake. Doubling back for a Brief Encounter at Carnforth station.

Michael reads the riot act in Preston, where he discovers four mill workers were shot dead by soldiers at a protest in 1842. He then makes a splash in pink as he traces developments in 19th-century interior design from wallpaper to paint.

Michael begins this leg of his journey in Merseyside, where he feels the heat of modern glassmaking in St Helens.

On the last leg of his journey through north west England, Michael makes a clean sweep in Ashley, where, in Victorian times, the new middle classes set up home in suburban villas with multiple chimneys, swept by children. In Macclesfield, Michael finds the end of the Silk Route and tries his hand at screen printing. After stoking the fire on the steam-powered Churnet Valley Railway, Michael alights at Froghall for Alton Towers, to trace the 19th-century origins of the modern theme park.

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Following his Bradshaw's handbook, Michael examines the nation's hidden defences against potential invaders, beginning in the port of Newhaven. Detouring north to Balcombe, he interrupts his journey to appreciate two magnificent engineering achievements - the Ouse Valley Viaduct and the Clayton Tunnel - and learns of a gruesome murder. High on top of a favourite Victorian beauty spot, Michael learns how trains once brought hordes of day trippers here to walk and fly kites. Michael ends this leg of his journey in Worthing, where he finds a novel way to pick tomatoes.

Michael arrives in Littlehampton, where he discovers how Victorian engineers dug deep to defend the town's residents from cholera and learns how their drills still access clean water around the world.

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In Plymouth, Michael finds out about the Royal Navy's fighting spirit and mixes his own blend of ruin.

Every train ride begins with a whistle and Michael's new railway journey is no exception, blasting off from Birmingham's jewellery quarter to the sound of the Acme whistle, manufactured there since 1884.

Michael heads for the sharp end of the Victorian industrial revolution at a needle manufactory in Redditch. The Freemasons of Cheltenham invite Michael into their lodge to share the secrets of their society.

Michael takes pot luck on the snooker table as he investigates the Victorian origins of the game and finds out what it takes to produce the fine green cloth which smoothes the path of the balls.

In Nailsea, Michael discovers how mountains of bird droppings made one of the greatest fortunes of the era for a 19th-century entrepreneur, who spent his wealth building churches and chapels.

Michael stands trial at the Bloody Assizes in Taunton and feels the full force of the law. He then gets to grips with a miracle of Victorian engineering on the Somerset Levels at Westonzoyland.

Michael begins a new journey through the home counties in Ashford, Kent, lending a hand at a state-of-the-art train maintenance plant, home to the High Speed 1 rolling stock - a modern railway hub in a Victorian railway town.

At East Grinstead, Michael dons a boiler suit and takes to the footplate of a loco on the Bluebell Railway, Britain's first passenger carrying heritage line.

Michael's journey through the home counties continues at Woking, Surrey, where he uncovers the story of Britain's first purpose-built crematorium, a response to overcrowded cemeteries and London's ever-expanding population.

A royal residence beckons for Michael as he is treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the world's longest vine at Hampton Court Palace.

Michael begins the final leg of this journey through the home counties at Egham, where a perfectly preserved, historic steam fair offers the original white-knuckle ride.